Knowra Sira Sira Sira is the biographical literature recounting Muhammad’s life and prophetic mission. Its narratives combine reports about his actions, teachings, battles, and community.
Hadith : Hadith are reports about Muhammad’s words, actions, and approvals, transmitted through chains of narrators. Sira draws on reports about Muhammad that also circulate in hadith collections.
Urwa ibn al-Zubayr : Urwa ibn al-Zubayr was an early Muslim scholar in Medina known for transmitting reports about Muhammad’s life. His letters and reports are among the earliest recoverable materials used in sira studies.
Oral tradition : Oral tradition is the transmission of narratives, knowledge, or practices through spoken communication across generations. Reports about Muhammad circulated orally before and alongside written compilations.
Sirat Rasul Allah : Sirat Rasul Allah is Ibn Ishaq’s account of Muhammad’s ancestry, prophetic career, and community. It is the foundational continuous work associated with the sira tradition.
Sunna : Sunna is the normative example of Muhammad’s conduct in Islamic thought and practice. Sira narratives help portray the life from which exemplary conduct is drawn.
Isnad : An isnad is the chain of transmitters accompanying a report in Islamic scholarly traditions. Transmission chains help establish how sira reports were passed down.
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri : Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri was an eighth-century Muslim traditionist who collected reports about Muhammad and early Islam. His collected materials helped shape the transmission of early prophetic biography.
Hadith studies : Hadith studies examine the transmission, wording, classification, and historical reliability of reports attributed to Muhammad. Its methods inform evaluation of reports incorporated into sira.
Kitab al-Maghazi : Kitab al-Maghazi is Al-Waqidi’s detailed account of Muhammad’s military expeditions. It exemplifies the campaign-focused strand of prophetic biography.
Islamic historiography : Islamic historiography is the writing and study of history within Muslim intellectual traditions. Sira became one of the foundational forms of early Muslim historical writing.
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